Actuator controlling means for calculating machines



" June 1,1949. E. F. BRITT-EN, JR 2,472 564 AC'IU 0R CONTROLLING NS FOR LGULATING MACH S Filed July 13, 1945 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 1 FTQRNEY INVENTOR June 7, 1949. F. BRITTEN, JR 2,472,564

ACT 0R CONTROLLING MEANS FOR CALCULATING MACHINES Filed July 13, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VINVENTO mm 12 as 'EzZwid 23m ma a? 9W T QRNEY erates upon a cam 00, fast upon the shaft BI to which the driven element of clutch 58 is secured. Also fast on shaft 6| is a notched disk 62, the notched portion of which normally receives an anti-friction roller mounted upon one end of an intermediately fulcrumed lever 63. The other end of lever 63 is provided with a roller of insulating material engaging one leaf of a switch 04, interposed in the motor circuit. As detent 51 is freed from the restraint of arm 56, spring operated arm 59 will rotate cam 60 and the parts fast therewith in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4, this movement forcing the antifriction roller of lever 63 onto the periphery of disk 62, whereby switch 64 will be held closed. A cam projection 65 on the driven member of the clutch serves to hold the rocker 52 in partially adjusted position (in case of a very rapid stroke on the plus or minus bar) until the clutch 58 is further rotated by the motor.

When the anti-friction roller of arm 59 drops to the low point of cam 60, a forward extension of said arm will displace an arm I4 (Fig. 4) fast upon a shaft I5. A slotted arm 15 (Fig. also fast on shaft I5, has pin and slot connection with the link 5|, so that as shaft I5 is rocked, upon engagement of the clutch 58, link 5| will be lifted free of the stud of arm 50 of operation control shaft I25, whereby the coupling will be broken and rocker 52 of the transmission means will be freed for additional movement and other actions will be provided for, as hereinafter set forth.

Upon the initial movement of clutch 58 a cam 66 (Fig. 2), fast on shaft 6|, will be brought into contact with an anti-friction roller of lever 54, and during the remaining portion of the first half cycle of the movement of said clutch cam 65 will move rocker '52 further in the selected direction.

Fast to rocker 52 is a member 61 (best seen in Fig. 1) provided with oppositely disposed hook projections. Movement of rocker 52 following depression of the plus bar will bring one of the projections of member 61 into contact with a lug formed on a friction band 68 (Fig. 2'), closing said band about the periphery of the internally-toothed gear I05 of the transmission. Closure of the band puts a spring 69 under tension to hold the internally-toothed gear I05 stationary. This transmission comprises a normally idle differential gear drive initiating and direction controlling mechanism the differential gear train of which is constructed in accordance with the disclosure of United States Patent No. 1,566,650, hereinbefore referred to. The planet pinions I03, I08 of the differential, supported on arm I04, are driven from a sun gear I02, fixed upon the motor shaft, and normally serve to drive the internally-toothed gear I05 and the spur gear I (Fig. 1) in opposite directions, the planet pinions rotating idly about their axis. When internally-toothed gear I is held against rotation, however, rotation of the planet pinions by the sun gear will cause the planet pinion assembly to be driven orbitally about the motor shaft, to rotate a gear which is in driving connection with the differential actuators 5.

Depression of the minus bar provides for the rocking of member 6'! in the opposite direction, bringing the opposite hook thereof into engagement with the lug of a friction band I0 (Fig. engaging the periphery of a plate II, fast with the spur gear I09. A spring I2 is thus tensioned, to hold the spur gear against rotation,

'4 whereupon the driven planet pinions will move about spur gear I09, rotating the planet assembly and the differential actuators 5 in the opposite, or subtractive, direction.

Clutch 58 will be released and held disengaged in midcycle position by means of a detent I3, whereby switch 64 will be held closed and rocker 52 held in extreme operated position, to maintain pressure upon the friction band of the transmission.

Termination of the operation The differential actuators will continue to cycle until the depressed plus or minus bars are released or until the registration in the numeral wheels I3 changes from a positive to a negative character or vice versa. Thereupon, at the end of the current cycle, means will be operated for reengaging clutch 58 and for stopping and locating the differential actuators, this means being controlled by a trigger 3I (Fig. 1), and control devices similar to those disclosed in Patent No. 1,566,650.

When the plus or minus bar was depressed a plate I28 (Fig. 2) was rocked, said plate forming a part of the actuator stopping means and being connected by a coupling pawl I21 with an arm I26, fast on operation control shaft I25. Plate IE3 is provided with opposed cam surfaces engaging an anti-friction roller I33 mounted upon a tripping arm I34 (Fig. 1), movement of the plate in either direction thereby serving to depress the rearward end of arm I34. A spring pawl I36 is mounted on the rearward end of arm I34 and is normally held tensioned by engagement thereof with a lug of trigger 3 I. Upon movement of arm I34, pawl I36 is moved away from the trigger CH, and will be rotated by its spring into position underlying the lug of said trigger.

A quick stroke latch I58 is moved by spring I35 into position beneath the forward extension of arm I34, holding said arm in rocked position until a cycle of the differential actuators has been started. A rock arm 22, pivoted upon the framing at 23, is provided with a link 2|, the other end of which has driving crank connection with a shaft I54, connected by a train of one-to-one gearing with the differential actuator shaft. During the first registering cycle rock arm 22 will be brought into contact with quick stroke latch I58, disengaging it from beneath the forward extension of arm I34 and bringing it into camming engagement with an arm I69, pivoted upon arm I34 and connected therewith by a strong spring I61. Camming of arm I60 away from arm I34 will place the latter under the influence of spring I61, whereby it will be restored to normal position upon release of the key. The restoration of arm I34 involves the return of plate I28 to normal centralized position and, since shaft I25 is free from the link connection 5|, the shaft and plate I28 will be centralized, upon release of the key, by one of a pair of spring arms 8I (Fig. 5) acting upon an arm 82 of shaft I25. In this return of arm I34 pawl I36 will contact with the lug of trigger 3|. thereby raising said trigger out of contact with a pawl 25 carried upon a stopping arm 24. Stopping arm 24 is pivotally mounted upon the framing at 23, and pawl 25, when released from trigger 3!, will be moved by its spring into contact with the rock arm 22. As the differential actuators are rotated to their full cycle position a shoulder of arm 22 will be moved free of pawl 25, said pawl then falling behind the shoulder, to couple the arms 22, 24 together for movement as a unit. As the actuators pass beyond full cycle position arm 24 will be carried forwardly, acting through link ll to rock the mid-cycle clutch detent 13 out of engagement with the pawl of clutch 58. Rocking of detent 73 will also bring said detent into contact with a pivoted plate 18, forcing said plate against a disk 19 whereby further rotation of the actuators in the original direction will be prevented. That is to say disk 19 will form a positive stop for arm 24 and thus for arm 22, which is in driven connection with the differential actuators. A leaf spring 80 serves to hold plate 18 normally in light contact with disk 79.

Should a change of sign occur in register l3 while the plus or minus bar is held depressed, the consequent tens transfer to the extreme left hand wheels of the register, operating through a gear it in driving engagement with One of the numeral wheels of the register, will operate to trip the trigger 3| and effect a stop. The coupling pawl I21 is provided in order that trigger 3!], having been tripped by the action of the register i3, will not again be tripped, after the parts have come to rest, upon release of the depressed key. The coupling pawl is moved out of coupling position by contact of a pin fixed in the stopping arm 24 with an arm of said pawl.

Auxiliary clutch 58, being reengaged, will operate through its last half cycle of movement, thereby disengaging the transmission effecting elements as follows:

Cam 66 (Fig. 2) will drop away from the antifriction roller of lever '54, and a projection 83, fixed upon said cam, will engage the upper arm of an intermediately fulcrumed. lever 84, the lower arm of which is provided with an antifriction roller engaging one of two opposed cam surfaces of the rocker 52, the roller being forced against the rocker to return it to its normal centralized position, thereby disengaging the hook of member 87 from the lug of friction band 68 or 7 9. There is no precise timing problem to the operation of the actuator stopping means (plate 78, etc.) and the releasing of the friction band, since if the band is first released the actuators will be carried against the stop by inertia, while if the actuators are first stopped, the gear I or the plate I! will slip.

It has been said that the actuators are stopped beyond their full cycle position, and means are provided for positively returning them to such position and for holding them so located while the machine is at rest. For this purpose an eccentric 85 (Fig. 1) fast with the driven member of clutch 58 engages an anti-friction roller of a pivoted plate I55, a second anti-friction roller on said plate being driven by the eccentric against a locating cam E53 fast upon the shaft I54. Cam N3 is so designed that as clutch 58 comes to its full cycle position eccentric 85, through plate l 55, will rotate the cam, the difierentia1 actuators and the parts driven therewith, in either direction back to full cycle position.

The return of the parts to full cycle position will also restore rock arm 22 to normal position, and arm 25 will be restored therewith, under the influence of a spring 28. As arm 24 comes into normal position a lug of pawl 25 will encounter the end of trigger 3| and wil1 be lifted free of the shoulder of rock arm 22.

Rocker 52 having been restored to normal position during the last half cycle .of clutch 58, arm

56 will have relocated clutch detent 5 into the path of movement of the projecting portion of the clutch pawl, so that as the clutch is rotated to full cycle position, the pawl will be lifted out of engagement with the driving ratchet and the driven element of the clutch will be stopped.

The last half rotation of the clutch has also brought the notch of disk 62 (Fig. 4) into register with the anti-friction roller of lever 63, a1l0wing the spring jaws of the switch 54 to separate. Spring arm 59 will also be restored and retensioned by cam 66, and shaft l5 will be allowed to rock back to normal position, bringing the walls of the notch of link 5! again into engagement with the pin of arm 50.

I claim:

1. In a calculating machine having electric circuit means provided with a switch, a motor in said circuit, differential actuators, a normally idle transmission means between the motor and the actuators including elements engageable to effect the drive, a motor key, and actuator stopping means; a cyclic auxiliary clutch driven from the motor, means driven by the auxiliary clutch under control of the motor key to engage the transmission elements, means for disengaging the auxiliary clutch in midcycle position thereof, means driven by the auxiliary clutch under control of the actuator stopping means to reengage the auxiliary clutch and thereby disengage the transmission elements, and devices including a notched disk operable by the auxiliary clutch to hold the switch closed when said clutch is out of its full cycle position.

2. In a calculating machine having electric circircuit means provided with a switch, a motor in said circuit, differential actuators, a normally idle transmission means between the motor and the actuators including elements engageable to effect the drive, a motor key, and actuator stopping means; a cyclic auxiliary clutch driven from the motor, means operable by the motor key to release and partially rotate the auxiliary clutch, means driven by the auxliary clutch under control of the motor key to engage the transmission elements, means for disengaging the auxiliary clutch in midcycle position thereof, means driven by the auxiliary clutch under control of the actuator stopping means to reengage the auxiliary clutch and thereby disengage the transmission elements, and devices including a notched disk operable by the auxiliary clutch to hold the switch closed when said clutch is out of its full cycle position.

3. In a calculating machine having an electric motor, differential actuators, a train of normally idle drive gearing between the motor and the actuators, a motor key, and actuator stopping means; friction elements interposed in the drive train and. engageable to effect the drive, an auxiliary clutch driven from the motor, means operable through the auxiliary clutch under control of the motor key to engage and maintain engagement of the friction elements, and means operable through the auxiliary clutch under control of the stopping means to disengage the friction elements.

4. In a calculating machine having an electric motor, cyclic differential actuators, normally idle drive connections between the motor and the actuators including transmission elements engageable to effect the drive, and means'for stopping the differential actuators in full cycle position; operation control devices, a releasable cou- 7 8 pling connectton between said contrcl devices and UNITED STATES PATENTS the transmisslon elements, and an mdependently releasable coupling connection between said con- Number Name Date trol devices and the stopping means. 1,270'845 Landsiedel July 2, 1918 5 1,935,851 Lerch Nov. 21, 1933 EDWIN F. BRITTEN, JR. 2,109,063 Garbell Feb, 22, 1938 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

